The State of Illinois has accumulated roughly $137 billion in public pension debt at the end of 2019. This is money owed to state employees who have retired as a severance to their public service and work. The massive amount of debt is an issue because as the underfunded liabilities grow, it will continue toContinue reading “Dissecting Illinois’ Public Pension Issue: Part I”
Category Archives: economics
Remember when Illinois Banned Branch Banking?
Topic: Finance Issue: Branch Banking in Illinois There was a period in Illinois history where banks could not freely establish branches at different locations, suppressing bank expansion and limiting consumers to only their local community bank to suffice financial needs. Illinois’ Constitution in 1870 prohibited branch banking unless the General Assembly voted by a three-fifthsContinue reading “Remember when Illinois Banned Branch Banking?”
Analyzing the Arguments For and Against Universal Basic Income
By: Quinn Newman, contributing writer Topic: Finance and Economics Issue: Universal Basic Income Problem: The United States has experienced rising economic inequality over the last four decades. Between 1989 and 2013 median household income only grew by 9% with the wealthiest 1% of Americans owning 35% of the country’s wealth. Additionally, with the federal minimumContinue reading “Analyzing the Arguments For and Against Universal Basic Income”
Illinois’ Sales Tax Structure
The State’s Tax Reliance on Goods Overview The State of Illinois primarily taxes goods as opposed to services. Currently, the state taxes 17 services with 12 coming from public utilities. This narrow base is poor to adapting to changing in the economic climate because it becomes overly dependent on taxes from only a few services belonging toContinue reading “Illinois’ Sales Tax Structure”
Income Taxation in Illinois
The modern Illinois Constitution, adopted in 1970, sets forth a non-gradual structure where every individual pays the same base tax rate of 4.95 percent. This current rate of 4.95 percent was adopted by the General Assembly in 2017 and implemented beginning in 2018, up from the previous 3.75 percent. While different rate structures cannot beContinue reading “Income Taxation in Illinois”
Prairie State Policy 